1. Field of Application
This invention relates to gutters or drain troughs for buildings; and more particularly, to mountings for such gutters and drain troughs that facilitate cleaning of debris therefrom.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, the great majority of buildings (residential, commercial, public, farm, business and the like) have roofs which are slanted, tilted, peaked or otherwise constructed to direct water, snow, ice and the like down off of the roof and towards the ground. Even so-called flat roofed buildings have their roofs constructed with one or more slants to direct water off of the roof. The water from the rain, or the melting snow and ice, is, however, usually not permitted to merely run off of the roof to drop to the ground but is, instead, collected in troughs or gutters which either fully surround or partially surround the roofed structure. The troughs and gutters, in turn, channel the water to downspouts which direct the water down to the ground or to sewers, dry wells or other similar runoffs.
However, the troughs or gutters not only collect and channel water. They also collect leaves, tree branches, and any other debris that should happen to fall upon the structure or building roof. Such debris finds its way into the gutter by being wind blown across the roof into the gutter and/or by being swept along with the flowing water as it travels into the trough or gutter. The water, channelled by the gutter thereafter carries the leaves, branches and other debris towards the downspout where such debris usually collects because all or some of the debris cannot get washed down the downspout. With the downspout clogged the water in the gutter fills up the gutter and then spills over the gutter edges defeating the purpose of using the gutter in the first place. As the water runs over the edges of the gutter it not only falls on people below but it may also damage the ground below and create troughs or marshy ground therein, or it may damage the building as it runs down the buildings walls.
It thus becomes important to clean out the gutters regularly or, if one forgets to do that, to clean them out when reminded to do so by water running over the gutters edges. Climbing up a ladder to clean out gutters is froth with danger on a dry nice day but is especially hazardous when it is windy and rainy and the gutters are overflowing. Many homes are two and three story structures and require long ladders to reach the height of the gutters. These long ladders, propped up against a building or house, are at best delicately balanced and present dangers which result in broken bones, serious injuries and even death from falls. Clearing clogged gutters and downspouts can thus be a dangerous and possibly deadly chore.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,194,780 issued on Mar. 25, 1980 to C. A. Dilley for Gutter Cleaner Tool shows and describes a device which extends the reach of the person cleaning out a gutter and facilitates maneuvering about the cross-struts which are conventionally utilized to secure the gutter to a buildings facia and to provide additional support for the otherwise generally thin gutter walls. However, this device still requires that a person climb a ladder or otherwise assume a precarious position above the level of the gutter when operating the device. The dangers inherent in doing so are more than adequately described above.
There are also devices for use in cleaning gutters which are operated from the ground, such as those shown and described: in U.S. Pat. No. 4,196,927 issued on Apr. 8, 1980 to M. Lomaga for Gutter Cleaning Device; and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,940 issued on Jan. 19, 1982 to E. L. Moore for Gutter Cleaner. However, such devices require that a mechanism disposed at the top of a pole be accurately positioned within the gutter and then operated from the ground. The operator, in utilizing such a device, must be careful not to pull the device and the gutter away from the building and must also keep in mind that at regular intervals along the length of the gutter there are gutter hangers which are to be avoided. Such ground operated gutter cleaning devices are thus not only relatively costly and difficult to operate but may also present dangers that many people afflicted with gutters and their inherent problems may prefer to avoid.
Alternative ground operated devices to facilitate gutter cleaning are shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,406 issued on Feb. 28, 1989 to J. Densmore for Self-Cleaning Gutter and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,837,987 issued on Jun. 13, 1989 to R. V. Fender for Rain Water Receiving Apparatus With Dumping Feature. The Densmore construction, however, requires a specially constructed gutter with an elongated wall that is pivotally mounted and the disposition of rotating devices within the gutter and downspout (and the water running therein) that may not only unduly add to the cost of the installation but may also rust and/or freeze rendering operation thereof quite difficult if not impossible. The Fender construction, on the other hand, requires that the gutters be mounted on brackets that space the inner wall of the gutter away from the structure, and the use of an elongate rod stretching the length of the gutters. Spacing the inner wall of the gutters away from the facia of the building will permit water to run down the building face if the gutter overflows and this may result in stains and water damage to the building. In addition, because this type of gutter mounting spaces the gutter from the building face a greater degree of roof must overhang the gutter to direct the water into the gutter. If the roof is already in place such additional overhang may not be possible if one is to convert a gutter hung by conventional gutter hangers to that described. Moreover, the use of a rod stretching the length of the gutter may prove to be unsightly as to render such a gutter construction undesirable. In addition, because Densmore requires a special gutter construction and Fender requires the disposition of brackets between the gutter and the building neither of these constructions permit the ready conversion of gutters supported by conventional gutter hangers to a ground operated gutter cleaning system utilizing the in-place gutters.
Still other gutter constructions to facilitate gutter cleaning are shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,232 issued on Jun. 2, 1987 to R. L. Wyatt for Rain Gutter Supports For Dumping Debris and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,657 issued on May 24, 1988 to L. H. Faye for Hinged Support Bracket Assembly For A Drain Trough. However, the Wyatt type construction requires the use of spring clips to keep the gutters from pivoting down because they are pivoted at their rear walls; while the Faye-type construction requires the use of a special harness and cooperating bracket construction to mount the trough or gutter. These special clips and harnesses may unduly add to the cost of such constructions and may unduly complicate the use thereof especially under adverse weather conditions. In addition, constructions like those shown and described in these patents require the use of brackets that space the gutters from the building face which may prove undesirable for reasons described above. Such constructions also require that existing gutters mounted on conventional gutter hangers be fully removed in converting from a conventional gutter mounting to ones of the type shown in these patents.